What is the cheapest city to buy a house in California?

Oroville, with a median closed price of $270,000 over its reporting window, among California cities where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the city limits.

Are these asking prices or sale prices?

Closed sale prices. Every price median is the price homes actually closed at inside the municipal boundary, not a listing price. The one column measured differently is realized appreciation, which uses the postal city, as the note under the table says.

Why does a cheap city show a high price per square foot?

Because the ranking median covers every property type that closed, condos and multi-family included, while the $/sqft column is single-family houses only. In cities where most sales are condos, the median price is low and the house $/sqft can still be high.

Is the appreciation figure a forecast?

No. It is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home, on repeat-sale pairs. It is historical and nominal, and it says what happened, not what will.

Cheapest Cities to Buy a House in California (2026)

These are the California cities with the lowest median closed home price over their reporting window, among cities where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the municipal limits. Cheapest is not the same as best value, so each city also shows what houses closed at per square foot, what history says about appreciation, and how fast listed homes went under contract.

The ranking

#	City	Median closed price	Houses $/sqft	Realized appreciation	Days to contract	Closings	Window
1	Oroville	$270,000	$215	4.54%/yr	27	268	12 months
2	Ridgecrest	$274,900	$177	4.43%/yr	30	225	six months
3	Barstow	$275,000	$205	6.84%/yr	35	181	six months
4	Porterville	$335,750	$224	5.03%/yr	20	258	six months
5	Crestline	$350,000	$278	5.63%/yr	37	207	six months
6	Paradise	$353,000	$273	3.12%/yr	30	268	six months
7	Hemet	$358,500	$244	6.08%/yr	30	812	six months
8	Yucca Valley	$360,000	$243	6.77%/yr	44	245	six months
9	Tehachapi	$367,500	$261	5.46%/yr	16	157	12 months
10	Hanford	$374,250	$237	5.00%/yr	21	395	six months
11	Tulare	$375,000	$234	4.98%/yr	19	329	six months
11	Banning	$375,000	$258	5.29%/yr	28	418	six months
13	Eureka	$379,500	$280	4.97%/yr	16	236	12 months
14	Redding	$381,500	$251	4.25%/yr	18	710	six months
15	Desert Hot Springs	$382,822	$247	6.35%/yr	51	255	six months

1. Oroville, $270,000

The median closed price in Oroville is $270,000 across the last 12 months, which puts it at roughly 37 percent of the state figure. 268 closings sit behind that figure, about 22 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $215 per square foot across 219 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.54 percent a year (1,158 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home took 27 days to go under contract, across 152 listed closings. About 7.0 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Oroville market page.

2. Ridgecrest, $274,900

The median closed price in Ridgecrest is $274,900 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 38 percent of the state figure. 225 closings sit behind that figure, about 38 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $177 per square foot across 195 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.43 percent a year between those sales, on 775 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home took 30 days to go under contract, across 148 listed closings. Full detail is on the Ridgecrest market page.

3. Barstow, $275,000

Homes in Barstow closed at a median of $275,000 over the last six months, about 38 percent of the California statewide median. Resideline tracked 181 closings there, roughly 30 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $205 per square foot across 145 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 6.84 percent a year (763 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 35 days. About 7.9 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Barstow market page.

4. Porterville, $335,750

The median closed price in Porterville is $335,750 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 46 percent of the state figure. Resideline tracked 258 closings there, roughly 43 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $224 per square foot across 233 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.03 percent a year (856 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 20 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Porterville market page.

5. Crestline, $350,000

The median closed price in Crestline is $350,000 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 48 percent of the state figure. 207 closings sit behind that figure, about 34 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $278, measured on 201 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.63 percent a year (757 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 37 days. Full detail is on the Crestline market page.

6. Paradise, $353,000

Homes in Paradise closed at a median of $353,000 over the last six months, about 49 percent of the California statewide median. Resideline tracked 268 closings there, roughly 45 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $273 per square foot across 219 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 3.12 percent a year between those sales, on 1,330 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 30 days. Full detail is on the Paradise market page.

7. Hemet, $358,500

Hemet's median closed price over the last six months was $358,500, around 49 percent of what the typical California sale closed at. Resideline tracked 812 closings there, roughly 135 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $244, measured on 581 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 6.08 percent a year between those sales, on 4,225 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 30 days. Full detail is on the Hemet market page.

8. Yucca Valley, $360,000

Yucca Valley's median closed price over the last six months was $360,000, around 50 percent of what the typical California sale closed at. Resideline tracked 245 closings there, roughly 41 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $243, measured on 212 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 6.77 percent a year between those sales, on 1,534 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 44 days. About 7.5 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Yucca Valley market page.

9. Tehachapi, $367,500

The median closed price in Tehachapi is $367,500 across the last 12 months, which puts it at roughly 51 percent of the state figure. 157 closings sit behind that figure, about 13 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $261, measured on 128 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.46 percent a year (1,468 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 16 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Tehachapi market page.

10. Hanford, $374,250

Hanford's median closed price over the last six months was $374,250, around 52 percent of what the typical California sale closed at. Resideline tracked 395 closings there, roughly 66 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $237, measured on 366 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.00 percent a year (1,259 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 21 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Hanford market page.

11. Tulare, $375,000

Tulare's median closed price over the last six months was $375,000, around 52 percent of what the typical California sale closed at. 329 closings sit behind that figure, about 55 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $234, measured on 303 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.98 percent a year between those sales, on 1,083 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 19 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Tulare market page.

11. Banning, $375,000

Banning's median closed price over the last six months was $375,000, around 52 percent of what the typical California sale closed at. 418 closings sit behind that figure, about 70 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $258 per square foot across 359 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 5.29 percent a year between those sales, on 787 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 28 days. Full detail is on the Banning market page.

13. Eureka, $379,500

Eureka's median closed price over the last 12 months was $379,500, around 52 percent of what the typical California sale closed at. 236 closings sit behind that figure, about 20 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $280 per square foot across 188 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.97 percent a year between those sales, on 815 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 16 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Eureka market page.

14. Redding, $381,500

The median closed price in Redding is $381,500 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 53 percent of the state figure. 710 closings sit behind that figure, about 118 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $251, measured on 569 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.25 percent a year (3,321 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 18 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Redding market page.

15. Desert Hot Springs, $382,822

Homes in Desert Hot Springs closed at a median of $382,822 over the last six months, about 53 percent of the California statewide median. Resideline tracked 255 closings there, roughly 42 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $247 per square foot across 224 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 6.35 percent a year between those sales, on 1,769 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 51 days. Full detail is on the Desert Hot Springs market page.

Note: realized appreciation is the one column measured on the postal city, from repeat sales of the same home across the ZIP codes that share the city's name; every other figure is confined to the municipal boundary.

How to read this list

Treat it as a shortlist. A citywide median cannot price a specific address, and the cheapest city on paper can be the most expensive per square foot or the slowest to resell. Run any address here through Resideline for the comparable sales behind its value.

Figures last updated October 3, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked. Appreciation is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home; it is historical, nominal and not a projection.